1. Field of the Invention
The present invention concerns a single person sailboat, and seating and control arrangement therefor.
2. Description of Background Information
Many different small sailing craft are known in the art. U.S. Pat. No. 4,294,184, discloses a multi-hull craft steering system having a plurality of hulls or floats. One hull is a pivotally mounted steering hull located between and ahead of the remaining hulls. The steering hull is hand controlled with a steering wheel which is located for operation in plain view of the operator while the operator is in a forward looking position. A cable interconnects the steering wheel with a pulley that is coaxially mounted to a shaft. A rudder is connected to the opposite end of the shaft, so that turning of the steering wheel, and thus, rotation of the pulley, causes a left or right turning motion of the rudder. With this device, cable stretching commonly occurs through repeated use of the steering mechanism. As the cable stretches, increasing amounts of slop are introduced into the steering mechanism, thereby negatively effecting the precision of the steering control. The left/right movement of the steering hull is accomplished via a wheel connected to a linkage comprised of a pulley and a sheet or cable.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,757,777 discloses a sailing vessel which includes an elongated forward strut, two elongated aft struts and a mast. Pontoons are attached to the distal ends of the struts. The operator may control the trimming of the sail via a cord, and manipulate the tiller via foot on a rudder assembly which includes a plate-like fin for steering the boat. The rudder assembly is releasably secured to a crossbeam of the boat. The rudder assembly is pivotally mounted to a bracket. A tiller is attached to the rudder mechanism, for operation by the feet of the user, in order to pivot the rudder in a left or right direction. The direct connection between the tiller and the rudder mechanism requires that the operator be positioned substantially directly above the position of the rudder. Further, this device does not allow forward positioning of the operator during control of the rudder mechanism.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,802,366 discloses a sailing craft including a main hull flanked by two outrigger hulls. A steering mechanism is comprised of an inverted V-shaped hydrofoil which is mounted at the stern of the main hull. The V-shaped hydrofoil is pivotal relative to the main hull about both the vertical and horizontal axes to control direction and lift. It is responsive to the operation of a handle attached at the end of steering mechanism. The handle is pivotally mounted to the hull of the sailboat at the stem, by a shaft which interconnects the handle and the rudder. This type of known steering mechanism requires the operator to manipulate the steering mechanism without looking at the same, if the operator is assumed to be looking forward to ensure where he is going.